when the truck is cold the trans will shift through all of the gears way faster than it should, once warmed up i pretty much loose overdrive, sometimes it'll shift between 3rd and o/d multiple time before i get irritated and just turn off the o/d. this really sucks because i cant travle on the freeway any more and i cant take back roads to anywhere too far for fear i might breakdown or something.

i posted this same thing awhile back and a few of you came to the conclusion that i need to replace a couple solenoids and adjust the bands and tv cable. what solenoids need replacing? how do you adjust the bands correctly and how do you adjust the tv cable? this'll be my first time in a tranny so any tips or hints will be greatly appreciated.
thanks in advance.

 

For what it's worth.......

I was having some problems with the transmission shifting funny but not quit like yours. Mine started shifting down while going at a steady highway speeds then back up again intermittently. Then it wouldn't shift at all from lower gears while driving around the neighborhood and if I braked real hard it wouldn't shift right. A coworker suggested a sensor might be bad so I checked this forum out for folks with similar problems. But nobody was having the exact same issues I was having. Your post is the closest I've seen yet.

Went to Auto Zone and asked them to put their code scanner on it but it wasn't showing any code problems. I went a head and bought a transmission speed sensor for it because it was about the only one I could afford at the time. I put the speed sensor in and drove around that evening. It appeared to work fine until I drove it the next day! How ever it wasn't nearly as bad as it was before.

I then took it by the mechanic last week and got them to tighten the shift linkage because it had a lot of slack in it and was apparently interfering with the ignition and causing it not to start every time. That helped a lot (or so I thought) so I purchased some spark plugs on my way home. Put the new plugs in then took it for a test drive.

My truck was then running awful and felt like it had NO power... like I was pulling a semi behind me. To top it off, the transmission really started shifting funny when my truck would get warmed up.

Took it to the mechanic to figure out (I was frustrated with it) who suggested I change the plugs again and get it running good then bring it back to diagnose the transmission. Funny thing was, two mechanics drove it and the darn thing would shift fine with them in it. However they both commented about the apparent horrible power it was getting.

I then drove it to the dealer got some more plugs and put those in. Test drove it and the difference was night and day! It was running normal again and it would shift fine since I put the new plugs in it today.
I'll see if it still runs good tomorrow.

 

i forgot to add that if when im cruising around and its actually in o/d it'll shift down as soon as i let off of the gas.

so you replaced the speed sensor and adjusted the linkage?

 

The linkage was an old problem and it's still not perfect. It still shifted funny after the linkage was tightened. When I was explaining it to the transmission mechanic he said the transmission speed sensor was probably not bad if it still done it after wards.
I'm not a mechanic but if it continues to run smoothly in the next few days... I'm suspecting the bad spark plugs was screwing with the computer on it causing it to shift like that.
Some other odd things happened before I replaced the plugs today. Last week I got some engine noise through the CB radio speaker with the CB off. That only happened that one time. Today when I drove to the mechanic the stereo came on after I turned off. Granted the stereo needs replacing but my CB is just a few months old and well grounded and installed. The ABS and brake light came on one time after I put the "new" bad plugs in it but didn't stay on.

 

The cable probably isn't the problem, but to adjust it correctly you need 2 people. You have to hold the lever on the trans full forward, while somebody else at the throttle body adjusts the cable. Your looking for instantanious movement of both the trans tv lever and throttle for a stock setting.

A good tune-up on the motor is a good place to start, or at least someone to scan the computer with live data to pick up on anything irregular. The trans is shifted by the computer via load inputs from the motor. The trans side of things is torque sensing.Therefore running condition as far as your sensors are concerned greatly effect shift timing.

The only thing I don't see here, is how it is shifting from 1st to 3rd. These transmissions are good for dropping on line pressure with high mileage, which will cause fast shifting,up and down shifts and so on. "gear hunting"

You would have to adjust the regulator valve,on the valve body to raise the pressure. The OD issue is more likely to be the 3-4 shift accumulator,that is providing you are going in and out of OD and not just torque converter lock-up.

In that case,the lock-up solenoid could be to blame. Another thing to check, is the governor sensor. When you pull the pan,it's one of the first things you spot other than the filter on the valvebody. Remove the 4 torx screws holding it in and gently work it out,unplug the wire and thoroughly clean it if any buildup is found in the screen, or trans side mounting hole.

A good trans shop could get you on your way in a hurry.The only other possibility would be a bad OD piston seal,making it loose pressure and drop out of gear.An air test would be needed to verify everything hydraulic is working correctly. This requires dropping the valve body.

 

What plugs did you buy from Auto Zone (before the $tealership ones)?

 

awesome thanks alot for all of this should be quite helpfull

 

I got the plugs from Napa and they were Autolites which I had in it for sometime before having any problems. However this set was bad. The dealership gave me Champion / Mopar plugs.

Anyways I drove it some more today to get the wheels balanced.... it ran much better and shifted relatively well. While going to town it shifted quickly, up and down, then straightened out. After the tires were balanced it didn't want to start again on the first and second try. Just got a clicking noise. It would do that before and some times wouldn't even "click" when I turned the key. On the way home, just a couple of miles from the house, it shifted down briefly once, while I maintained a steady speed, then corrected it self.

Called my mechanic and told them I was going to drop it with the next couple of days.

Just thought of something else that may be screwing with the computer in it.
Just took it for another test drive and no change.

 

The No Start thing indicates a possible loose battery terminal.... that may also play hell with your trans......

 

Thought about that but I still just checked it again... all tight. Originally I thought the ignition switch, inside the steering column was going bad and made the old battery go bad and loose a charge. I replaced both (about three months ago) and for a while I thought it fixed the problem.
Thanks.